Page 36 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
She stared at him, tears threatening once again.“You mean Lenore.Who is she?”
He flinched upon hearing her name.
But there were still questions she had burning through her.Who, exactly, was Lenore?What happened to her?Why was Gabriel trying to protect her—and what from?She pressed her lips together wanting to ask them all, but didn’t.She watched his expression intently, as the pain flashed through his eyes for a brief moment before he concealed it.
Finally, he nodded, pain shadowing his features.“She was once like you.Curious.Bright.And the house…it took her.”
What did that mean—it took her?How?Why?Fear pierced her, hot and wild.
There was no doubt in her mind something sinister was happening here in this place she thought to call home.
She paused a long moment, then Victoria whispered, “Will it take me, too?”
Gabriel looked at her then—truly looked.In his eyes she saw truth and honesty.“Not if I can help it.”
He meant it when he said it.His words were firm, valiant.
A faint muffled whisper wrapped around them.Lenore again?Gabriel’s eyes darkened as he continued to look at her.
“Come.Sit with me.Rest.You’ve had a fright.”
Then he turned away and sat once again on the settee.A fright was putting it mildly.She had questions.Numerous questions.He didn’t seem to be in the mood to answer them.
But she recognized an olive branch when she saw it.So, she sat near him on the settee.He refilled her cup, warming her tea, and handed it to her.She took it, grateful for the warmth pressing through her hands as she held it close to her face.The steam curled upward, giving her comfort.
They sat in amicable silence for a time, listening to the faint rumble of thunder and the patter of rain outside on the windows.
“The greenhouse will need to be repaired.It is beyond my skill,” he said, then, as though that were the most pressing matter.
“Were you able to remove the tree branch?”she asked.
“No.I will need to hire someone to do that as well.”
He set aside his teacup, then reached into the folds of his coat and drew something out.
“I found this in the greenhouse.”
Her breath caught as he held it out to her.A doll with a faded face, and a faded blue dress.Her doll.She’d left it in the greenhouse.
“I remember this,” she whispered.“It was mine.I thought I’d lost it long ago.”
She took it reverently and placed it in her lap, cradling it as though it were made of glass.
“When you were a child, I found it in the west wing,” Gabriel said softly.“I tried to return it to you, but you and your parents were already gone.Today, it was in the greenhouse.”
It did not explain how it ended up in the greenhouse.Perhaps whatever sinister force lurked moved it there.
Something in his voice curled around her, drawing her closer.She thought back to her life here in the manor when she was young.Though he may not have realized it, Gabriel confirmed the one thing she long suspected—he was part of this house then as he was now.
“Thank you,” she murmured, her gaze still fixed on the doll.She could not look up at him.
“The day is late,” he said as he got to his feet.“I should prepare dinner.”
Before she answered, he left her alone in the room, with nothing more than memory fragments and a relic from her childhood.
Chapter 15
Thesuncameoutthe following day.
